Turkey PM vows unity after victory

ISTANBUL,Turkey-Turkey's prime minister has promised to promote national unity and fight terrorism after his ruling Islamist party comfortably won parliamentary elections.With nearly 100 percent of the vote counted,Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development party,or AKP,claimed a new five-year mandate after it won 46.6 percent of the vote,Turkish electoral officials reported Monday.
Though its share of the vote was larger than it was in 2002,when it was voted into power,Turkey's system for apportioning parliamentary seats means it will hold 342 seats in the country's 550-seat parliament, down from the 363 it now holds.The party's Islamic roots and its appeal to religious voters has unnerved many voters in a nation that has followed a strict code of secularism since it was founded in 1923.Renewed fighting with Kurdish guerrillas along the mountainous southeastern border with Iraq has also led to widespread criticism from opposition parties.But the country has been prosperous since Erdogan took office in 2003,
promising to pursue pro-business policies and to push for Turkey's entry into the European Union.He urged his followers to accept the election results"with maturity.""The elections are over,but the test continues for us,"he said.He added:"We practice unity politics,and we will continue doing that."The secularist Republican People's Party (CHP),which dominated the Turkish republic from 1923 until 1950,won 20.8 percent of the vote and more than 100 seats in parliament.The conservative National Movement Party,which has urged tough action against Kurdish guerrillas blamed for recent bombings in Ankara and other cities,won 14.3 percent and at least 70 seats in parliament.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/07/23/turkey.elections/index.html
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